Former Blue Devil Jeff Capel is returning to the Cameron Indoor Stadium hardwood as an assistant coach, head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced Sunday.
Capel has compiled an 175-110 record in nine years as a head coach in stints at Virginia Commonwealth and Oklahoma. As a Blue Devil, Capel scored 1,601 points and dished 433 assists, and is best remembered for his 40-foot runner that sent the 1995 Duke-North Carolina game to double overtime in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"We are excited to have Jeff joining our staff," Krzyzewski said. "He is an outstanding coach and will be a great fit in our program. Jeff has been a highly successful head coach at the Division I level and he will continue that here at Duke. Adding a coach of his caliber will make everyone in our program better."
In 2002, Capel, then 27, became the youngest head coach in Division I men's basketball when he took the helm at Virginia Commonwealth. He led the Rams to four straight winning seasons—with a 79-41 overall record—before leaving for the same position at Oklahoma.
Capel's career at Oklahoma was highlighted by a trip to the 2009 Elite Eight behind National Player of the Year Blake Griffin—and the precipitous fall that followed. Many of Capel's top players became early enrollees into the NBA Draft, and by 2011 the team compiled just a 14-18 record.
In March, Capel was fired by the school just two years after he had signed a $13 million extension.
With Capel's arrival, current assistant coach Nate James has been named special assistant, where his duties will no longer include on-court coaching.
"Nate has done a very good job with us as an assistant coach and he will continue to be a huge asset to our program in his new role," Krzyzewski said. "He has a bright future ahead of him and this opportunity will help him continue to grow and develop."
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